Two very different watch parties have been held in Florida and Washington DC, with Donald Trump supporters celebrating and Kamala Harris supporters desperately trying to hold on to hope.
There were scenes of jubilation at the Make America Great Again event near Mar-a-Lago, where hopes have risen that the former president can sweep the seven battleground states.
As positive projections for the Republican candidate came in, Trump supporters erupted in applause and began dancing, and one video showed supporters in Florida cutting out shapes to the beat of his favorite song, YMCA.
Meanwhile, Harris supporters appeared despondent and even broke down in tears as they watched the results come in at the vice president’s alma mater, Howard University, in DC.
Supporters of the Democratic candidate were upbeat as the watch party began, but as the night wore on and Harris’ path to victory narrowed, the atmosphere became dramatically more subdued.
Supporters of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump react at the site of Trump’s election night rally, at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach.
A supporter of Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump reacts as he watches early results at the site of Trump’s election night rally.
Supporters react as they watch the results during an election night watch party for the Republican presidential candidate.
Ecstatic Trump supporters applaud and cheer as they watch the returns during the viewing party in West Palm Beach.
A Harris supporter is seen crying at the election night event at Howard University in Washington DC.
Surprised Kamala Harris supporters watched the unfavorable results roll in.
Worried poll watchers had their TVs fixed on Harris’ D.C. event
Some Harris supporters were even seen burying their heads in their hands as optimism waned.
Harris-Walz supporter grimaces at screenings while attending watch party in DC
The dancing stopped and attendees fixed their eyes on the large CNN screen set up outside for the event, some covering their mouths in shock and even burying their heads in their hands.
The watchdog group fell silent as the vice president appeared to fall behind in key battleground states.
The Harris campaign then reportedly turned off the sound on the TVs and replaced it with music after a CNN guest said tonight felt “more like 2016 than 2020.”
The despondent supporters reportedly began leaving before midnight, and the crowd thinned.
The sullen-faced supporters who remained stared at the big screen as they watched the unfavorable projections for their candidate.
Some were even seen sobbing when news broke that Trump was projected to win key states.
“We’re still hoping to get to Pennsylvania,” Makeda Haughton said. ‘This is disappointing, of course. It’s not what I wanted to hear, but I won’t summon him until he’s fully summoned.
Cautious optimism was replaced by concern, and many of the viewing party attendees returned home to follow the race on television.
“I feel… a little anxious,” said freshman Amar Zarif.
Meanwhile, there was massive applause at watch parties across the country when projections that Republicans would gain control of the Senate were announced.
Supporters of former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump wait for the results of the 2024 US presidential election during the election night watch party at the West Palm Beach Convention Center
Trump supporters wave MAGA flags near his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
There has been a party atmosphere at the convention center in downtown West Palm Beach.
Red-hat-wearing worshipers cheered and drank late into the night, and many hoped their candidate would show up to celebrate with them.
The expectation is that Trump will address the country at the convention center, which is just a ten-minute drive from where he is watching the polls.
There were murmurs on the ground that Trump would speak to his supporters and the country from the location around midnight, although Trump previously suggested he might wait until the presidential race is called.